I periodically dig around my freezer to make sure I’m circulating through frozen meat and seafood that I buy from the farmers market and elsewhere. In the past, I’ve had product go bad because of freezer burn which is a waste of money and totally avoidable!

This time I found a batch of chicken wings dated….”1.27.11″. Given it’s early May, this is probably was a miss by me. Oops. I thought they must still be good so defrosted them overnight. I skimmed through my aunt#3’s The Wok Cookbook (which is titled “Homestyle Chinese Cooking” in U.S. editions but essentially has the exact same recipes) and found the recipe “Braised Chicken Wings” which looked easy (and tasty).

I was curious and just looked up The Wok Cookbook and Homestyle Chinese Cooking on Amazon.com. The former is going for $180 which the latter can be had for $3.96. Say what? However, if you get the The Wok Cookbook used, it’s .28 cents. Huh? I wonder how much my signed copy is worth? Not that I would ever sell it. Ever.

Adapted recipe from Homestyle Chinese Cooking by Yan Kit So.

10-12 chicken wings

1/2 tsp salt

white pepper

2-2 1/2 tbsp canola oil

3 garlic cloves

3 slices fresh ginger

2 green onions, cut into 2″ sections

1 whole star anise

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

sauce

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

4 tbsp water

1 tsp sugar

Take chicken wings and slice cut them into wings and drummettes. Discard wing tips.

Place chicken wings in a bowl or zip lock bag and sprinkle salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Leave to stand for 30 minutes.

Prepare garlic, ginger, and green onions. Mix together sauce ingredients and set aside.

Heat wok over high heat. Add oil and swirl it around. Add the garlic and  ginger and stir.

Add green onion and stir.

Add star anise and stir.

Add ground cinnamon and stir.

Slide in the chicken wings.

Brown wings in condiments for about 5 minutes. Turn them over frequently to cook evenly.

Splash a bit of Chinese wine over wings and continue moving the wings around with a wok scoop or metal spatula.

Add sauce and coat wings. Bring sauce to a boil. Cover wok and turn down heat to low and simmer for at least 30 minutes up until 60 minutes depending on how tender you want the wings to be.

About half way through cooking, turn wings over for even cooking and coloring. Check if there is still liquid in wok. If not then need to add 3-4 tbsp water.

This dish was excellent. I might have browned it a bit better but overall was very satisfied with this dish.